Falling for Gravity

Students will investigate the motion of three objects of different masses undergoing free fall. Additionally, students will:

  • Use spark timers to collect displacement and time data.
  • Use this data to calculate the average velocity for the object during each interval.
  • Graph this data on a velocity versus time graph, V-t. They find the slope of this graph to calculate acceleration.
  • Calculate the falling object's acceleration from their data table and graph this data on an acceleration versus time graph, a-t.
  • Use their Spark timer data paper, cut it into intervals, and paste these intervals into their displacement versus time graph.
Resource ID#: 51224 Type: Lesson Plan
Rate It!
Feedback?

Please sign in to access this resource

Teacher
Click here to sign in
as a FL public educator

Not a Florida public school educator?

Access this resource
on CPALMS.com

General Information

Subject(s): Mathematics, English Language Arts, Science
Grade Level(s): 9, 10, 11, 12
Intended Audience: Educators educators
Suggested Technology: Probes for Data Collection, Microsoft Office
Instructional Time: 3 Hour(s)
Keywords: free fall, constant acceleration, spark timer, gravity, graphing, motion
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan
Instructional Design Framework(s): Guided Inquiry (Level 3)
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative

Aligned Standards

This vetted resource aligns to concepts or skills in these benchmarks.

Related Resources

Other vetted resources related to this resource.